Five people face charges after police made arrests in connection with the city’s first homicide of 2018.

On Jan. 9, at around 8 p.m., police said officers patrolling in the area of St. Anne’s Road and Fermor Avenue in St. Vital conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle. Suspicious circumstances and an investigation led other officers to go to a residence in the first 100 block of Manila Road in The Maples where they located the dead body of 77-year-old Hossein Lotfi, the vehicle’s owner.

The investigation continued by members of the Homicide Unit.

Police said investigation determined that the victim had been socializing with two individuals at his residence during the evening of Jan. 5, when a fight occurred. The victim was left in an incapacitated state while the two individuals fled in the victim’s vehicle.

During the next evening, the suspects, along with three other individuals, returned to the residence and stole a number of items. Prior to leaving, a fire was set which caused excessive amount of damage to the property.

As a result of items stolen from the victim’s residence – Lotfi’s identification, bank and credit cards were used over the following days in and around Winnipeg.

Yvonne Littlejohn, 36, has been charged with second degree murder and theft over $5,000, while Myra Dawn Bird, 35, was charged with second degree murder, arson causing damage to property and several other theft and fraud offences. Charles Clayton Shabaquay, 43, has also been charged with arson, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 in addition to theft, identity fraud and fraud charges.

A 17-year-old boy was charged with arson and theft under $5,000 while a 15-year-old girl was charged with two counts of theft under $5,000.

All were detained in custody except for the 15-year-old who released on a promise to appear.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.